State of Flux
by XXXFROGMANGUYXXX
Summary: Flux journeys through the world of Pokemon.
1. Chapter 1

As the wash of sunlight from beyond the horizon was shattered by the dense leaves of the canopy above, tiny windows of pale green light were scattered along the forest path, illuminating the dirt and grass like the wall of a cathedral. At a glance, the environment appeared almost monochromatic as it took on the dominant hue cast by the rays. A symphony of birds fought its never-ending war to overpower the rustle of the trees and the echoes of running water. This particular forest, like most others, was governed by a pervading sense of growth. It was a sensation that was quickly forgotten by its growers, being more gradual and harder to perceive than the rotation of the planet itself. And although it concerned him as well, this phenomenon went unnoticed by Flux, a rather despondent luxio who had quite a bit of growing left to do himself.

On this morning in particular, he happened to be wandering the familiar ground of the forest, completely lost in his thoughts. It had become somewhat of a habit as of late, but the fuzzy blue pokémon couldn't say that he very much minded the walks through the woods that surrounded his quaint and otherwise isolated village. They were a quiet reprieve from the anxieties of his hometown. Being a bit of an introvert, Flux had come to realize that he felt the most like himself in moments like these, when he was completely alone. It was a satisfying conclusion, from which the pokémon discovered a secretive pride.

Emerging from these thoughts, Flux realized that he had managed to lose track of his usual route. This part of the forest looked entirely new to him, and as much as the feline was afraid of being lost, his worries were overpowered by his ravenous curiosity. With a fresh and wide-eyed fascination, the pokémon resolved to explore his unintentional destination.

Eventually, he came across an area where the forest opened up. As he stepped into the clearing with his mane's dark fur brushing against the surrounding foliage, his cat-like eyes narrowed upon a peculiar structure at the center of the area.

Flux tentatively prowled towards what appeared to be a ruined shrine. Warps in the woodwork betrayed the intricate carvings and adornments the site once boasted. Embedded in the ground in front of the shrine was a circular stone sigil. Depicted in carvings on its face, Flux could make out a large tree, surrounded by a myriad of pokémon that the luxio had never seen before. Gazing into the stone platform, Flux was met with a peculiar feeling. The forest and the world outside of it suddenly felt very large, and Flux was little more than a point at the center. He was greeted for the first time by an overwhelming sense of nothingness. Something very small, very deep within the pokémon had been born, and from that moment, it lived in persistent fear of being extinguished. The woods had succumbed to stillness now, silenced completely. Flux began to wonder where the persistent breeze or chirping birds had gone, and he longed to have been taken with them.

But now the pokémon knew what being truly alone felt like. He wished for company, or at least wished that he could produce a noise loud enough to pierce through the curtain of silence. However, despite all of Flux's willpower, the quiet's grasp on him and his environment sustained, leaving the luxio with a maddening stirring in his chest and a pounding in his skull. Overcome by nervousness, Flux unsteadily lowered his paw onto the sigil and walked to its center.

At that moment, the silence was shattered by a rumbling that originated from the trees as much as it did from Flux himself. The sigil began to glow red with a heat that the luxio could not feel. The sky deepened, bending the surface of the planet with it. The ground fractured, allowing the blinding light of trapped spirits to be unleashed from beneath the earth. The sigil was white with heat now, but despite the fearsome display and seemingly impossible temperature, Flux could only feel the nervous discomfort from before. Deafening bursts of sound echoed across the forest as the trees ignited and splintered, a crude distortion of the fireworks Flux adored as a child. The wood smoke and escaped light rose, dancing in the air around one another, forming the small, panicked forms of creatures. Flux recognized many of these as the strange pokémon depicted on the sigil underfoot.

The brightest and largest of these apparitions shone from the shrine itself, which remained untouched throughout the calamity. Flux immediately recognized it as the familiar green light that pervaded the forest. It was small in proportion, almost childlike, and appeared to resemble the leaves that had crumpled to ash mere moments ago. A single word formed on the tip of the luxio's tongue. A name, he realized, that he couldn't find the origin of.

"Celebi," he whispered faintly.

The entity turned and seemed to acknowledge him. In a sudden movement, it swept down fluidly towards the sigil, its curious eyes now positioned a few centimeters in front of Flux's. The creature, who Flux took to be Celebi, focused intently on him, and in its eyes he found a helpless plea. All in a single moment, he heard the cries of a drowning child, inhaled the smoke of a burning village, felt the tears of a tortured lover, and tasted blood that was not his own. As Celebi imparted all of this to him, Flux felt himself being forced into becoming a part of something larger than himself.

"Help us."

The words applied weight to Flux's heart, but they brought with them a reserved understanding and planted seeds of ambition. Then, as quickly as they had formed, the visions flashed and dissipated, leaving behind an unchanged forest and a terrified and quite disoriented luxio that stumbled backwards from the sigil, collapsed on the pale grass underfoot, and lost his consciousness with his frantic questions trapped forever in his fleeing breath.


	2. Chapter 2

"Admit it, Patch, I'll bet you were scared of them.

"Nuh-uh! They were the ones who were afraid after I was through with them!" boasted the aptly-named pachirisu, who was currently hanging upside-down from a tree branch and setting his friend straight. "You should have seen me! I wasn't scared at all. In fact, I never get scared."

"I guess you're just lucky they didn't eat you," smirked Molly, an oddish who was reclining against the tree, absent-mindedly listening to her friend's exaggerations while studying the strange blue flower protruding from the tall grass. Patch stuck his tongue out at her.

"Are you kidding? Fearows are no match for me!" he asserted confidently. Molly plucked another petal from the flower, which she deemed sufficiently edible, and began to chew it between her teeth.

"Who exactly are you trying to convince?" she questioned flatly, swallowing the remains of the surprisingly-lemony plant. "Last time I checked, you were hiding from pidgeys."

Patch's cheeks flushed hotly.

"H-hey, I was just being stealthy! I strategically—"

His excuse was interrupted by a loud blast from deep within the woods. Patch instinctively scampered further up his tree while Molly turned and looked curiously towards the source of the noise, expecting flames or smoke to rise above the tree-line. However, the sky remained clear and the forest was silenced for several minutes. Patch apprehensively shimmied down the tree and plopped next to Molly as Gwen, a marill from the village, worriedly approached the two.

"What was that?"

"No idea," responded Molly. Gwen bit her lip and glared nervously into the forest. "And before you ask, I'm not interested in finding out what it was either," Molly added coldly.

"Do you realize that Flux was in there?" snapped Gwen.

Patch's eyes widened in fear and realization and he stood quickly and looked with panic between the two girls.

"We have to find him and make sure he's okay," he pleaded urgently. Molly sighed and Gwen nodded in assent, and with that, the party of three stood and entered the forest to begin their search.

As they walked, Patch noticed Molly stealing glances at him and grinning slyly.

"What are you smiling at?" he challenged.

"Oh, nothing at all," she giggled to herself, looking back to the forest path ahead of them.

"C'mon, what's so funny?" he whined.

Molly settled back into a smile.

"You were scared back there," she responded gaily. "I was told that you never get scared."

Life was Hell, but it was nothing the vulpix wasn't accustomed to. The patter of raindrops against the drainpipe was a peaceful reprieve from the gunshots and cries that usually populated the streets around the otherwise abandoned warehouse she called her home. She stretched and inhaled the cocktail of subtle petrichor and sharp stenches from the city. The aroma was far from pleasant, but at least it was familiar.

In a single, practiced movement, the fire type leapt up and climbed over the rafters of the building. She sauntered delicately towards a broken window and peered above into the pale midday sky. The faint purple fringes of the clouds served as the only splash of color for the otherwise unsaturated city. She supposed it was the only sign of nature they hadn't figured out how to kill yet. Her attention shifted towards the horizon, to the darkened form of an absol perched on a tall rooftop, glaring into the city ominously.

"Never a good sign..." she muttered to herself.

Just below, one of the top windows of the building was forced open, revealing four tapered purple fingers from behind the grey curtains. The absol observed nonchalantly for a moment before leaping into the shadows of another building. A sableye climbed out of the window and hurriedly dropped its backpack onto the fire escape before following suit himself. He brought the worn, blue pack to his shoulder and deftly slipped through the railings and around the building, presumably following the absol.

The vulpix dropped to the ground of the warehouse and prowled towards the entrance.

"It's the Shade," she determined. "Although they've been far more active lately than usual."

She slipped into her belt, which held her switchblade. Although she was more than capable of fighting for herself as a pokémon, the small weapon helped to even the playing field against some of the more powerful "advantages" that had found their way into thugs' arsenals lately. She sighed and darted outside into the rain to begin her daily search for food.

"I just hope I'm out of here by the time they finish whatever they're planning."


	3. Chapter 3

A large, stone tablet had been cracked into two pieces, which were a couple feet of grass apart. Between the pieces of rock, a mass of blue and black fur twitched its tail and breathed heavily for what felt like the first time in years.

"Flux!"

The panicked pachirisu darted into the clearing and rushed over to his collapsed friend, followed by a marill and a less-than-enthusiastic-but-still-very-much-concerned oddish. Patch took Flux's paw and pulled him into a sitting position. As the luxio coughed violently, Patch noticed that his paw was incredibly hot, as if the fur had been completely singed from it. However, other than the roughened patches of dirt and bruises on his face, Flux's black and blue coat was untouched. Patch looked with concern from his paw into his friend's eyes, only to notice that the irises were now a bright green as opposed to the usual yellow. As Flux blinked between each of his friends, becoming aware of his surroundings, his eyes returned to their normal coloration. Patch seemed to be the only one who noticed.

"What happened to you?" exclaimed Gwen. "You're all beaten up and sore, and... and holy tauros your fur is hot!"

"Gwen, that's not where you check for fever," Molly sighed.

"Molly, come feel his fur!"

"Gwen, I don't see how... Oh, my! I didn't know we had a fire-type in our village!"

Gwen rolled her eyes and retrieved a pack of never-melt ice from her first-aid kit, beginning to administer it to Flux.

"Flux, are you alright? What happened? Who did this?" Patch probed frantically. Flux grit his fangs and winced as Gwen applied the ice to his battered forehead.

"Arceus, my head hurts," he groaned. "Let's just get back to the village, I'll explain everything on the way; although I don't think I understand half of what is going on myself."

The three pokémon helped their friend to stand and get reoriented.

"I think I can walk okay, home isn't too far from here as it is," Flux said, and with that, the group left the clearing. They were all too preoccupied to notice the distant mountain that towered above the north entrance of the forest, or more specifically, the Houndoom perched on its hind legs at its peak that scanned and scrutinized the tree-line with malignant intentions.

As the sun kissed the edge of the horizon, the sky blushed a deep shade of pink. Far north, miles beyond the mountain and all of the mountains beyond it, a riolu sighed, hunched over the smooth marble railing that lined the balcony of his new bedroom on the twenty-third floor of the central building of the grand palace at the center of the walled city that rested on the surface of an island held miles above the ground by seemingly impossible forces. Delicate footsteps behind him heralded the approach of another. The riolu furrowed his brow, wanting to be left alone for the night. The growlithe spoke softly.

"I thought you did a good job today."

The exasperated riolu sighed again, turned from the sunset to face his childhood friend, and slid against the railing until he was lowered to the tiled floor. The growlithe moved closer and sat patiently on its hind legs, looking with concern at his friend.

"Good isn't enough, Ty. Everyone there was good. I've waited my entire life for this. I can't afford to be only average. I know I could have done better."

He lowered his head and felt his eyes well with disappointment and self-pity. Ty sighed and sat next to him.

"You really want it that badly, don't you?"

The riolu looked at his friend with a mixture of surprise and determination.

"More than anything," he swore. Ty stood and turned, grinning, into the retreating daylight.

"Then show them. Show them how much you want it and how far you're willing to go for it. Don't even give them the option, make yourself absolutely necessary. Then they'll know that you're the real deal. Then you'll have what you want."

There was a silence between the two of them until the riolu stiffened up and gave a weak but pure smile. They understood each other.

"Thanks, Ty."

Ty smiled fondly at him before pawing at the riolu's shoulder.

"C'mon, you. There's a banquet downstairs with all of the other new initiates, and you're stuck up here alone dwelling on the past."

He chuckled softly, standing and stretching his arms above his head, grinning coyly at the fire-type.

"Well I'm not quite alone anymore, am I? But I suppose you're right. It's about time I met the others."

Ty led the way through the bedroom, down the hallway, and to the seemingly infinite spiral staircase, where the noise and excitement echoed from below. Twenty-two floors later, the growlithe pushed open a twin set of wooden doors, revealing a warm, massive dining hall packed with pokémon eating and enjoying themselves. The smell of food overpowered the riolu, whose nerves had distracted him from his hunger until now. A sharp call sounded out from one of the far tables.

"Hey, Ty! It's about time!"

The growlithe grinned, snatched his friend's hand, and began to lead him towards the small crowd that awaited them.


End file.
